11. COLIN KING (National—Kaikōura) Link to this
to the Minister of Agriculture
What steps has the Government recently made to progress domestic agriculture greenhouse gas research?
Hon DAVID CARTER (Minister of Agriculture) Link to this
Earlier this month the Prime Minister officially opened the Government’s Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre based in Palmerston North. The opening of the centre marks a new era for agricultural emissions research, and it will be a key part of New Zealand’s efforts to find practical ways to curb emissions from agriculture. It is a clear demonstration of this Government’s commitment to responding sensibly to climate change.
Reducing agricultural emissions while improving the productivity and profitability of our farmers and growers is one of the biggest challenges New Zealand faces. The centre will support New Zealand in taking a significant step forward in meeting this challenge. Another major aspect of New Zealand’s efforts in this area is of course the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases, which is going from strength to strength; 26 countries have now signed up. My colleague Tim Groser and I will host the first full meeting of the alliance, here in Wellington, next month. The alliance is something for which New Zealand is now receiving considerable praise internationally. The Global Research Alliance is an initiative that all New Zealanders should be proud of.
Hon Jim AndertonApart from the $5 million paid to the national centre for agricultural greenhouse gas research—which of course is a continuation of the previous Government’s policy—how much of the $25 million available to the Primary Growth Partnership for primary production research projects has been invested since the last election in November 2008, nearly 18 months ago?
A total of $50 million has been dedicated to the domestic centre. For the Primary Growth Partnership we now have some hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of applications before us, and they are being processed as we speak.
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I kept that question very simple. The Minister was asked to say how much had been invested in the Primary Growth Partnership, which has had $25 million available in the 18 months since the last election. He did not answer that question.
Mr SPEAKERForgive me; I thought I heard the Minister give an answer in which he cited an amount of money. I invite the Minister to clarify the situation.